No context, no content, no problem

Recently, philosophers have offered compelling reasons to think that demonstratives are best represented as variables, sensitive not to the context of utterance, but to a variable assignment. Variablists typically explain familiar intuitions about demonstratives—intuitions that suggest that what is said by way of a demonstrative sentence varies systematically over contexts—by claiming that contexts initialize a particular assignment of values to variables. I argue that we do not need to link context and the assignment parameter in this way, and that we would do better not to

Funkční a překladová korespondence ukazovacích zájmen v determinační funkci v překladu z angličtiny

Cílem bakalářské práce je popsat překladové protějšky anglických demonstrativ v determinační funkci v překladu z angličtiny do češtiny a zmapovat míru korespondence užívání ukazovacích zájmen v obou jazycích. Teoretická kapitola se nejdříve zaměřuje na anglická demonstrativa a definuje je coby determinátory z hlediska morfologického a syntaktického. Ukazovací zájmena slouží jako prostředky situační nebo textové reference, kterou lze rozdělit do tří podkategorií: anafora, katafora a tzv. neforická reference. Systém demonstrativ se dále dělí na formy odkazující na singulárové (this/that) nebo plurálové antecedenty (these/those). Na výběr demonstrativa má navíc vliv i vzdálenost mluvčího a referenta příslušného demonstrativa, přičemž percepce vzdálenosti se netýká pouze vztahu fyzické vzdálenosti či blízkosti. Teoretická část také postihuje relativně řídké případy, kdy se demonstrativum objevuje ve spojení s vlastním jménem (Vantage Theory) nebo funguje jako prostředek textové roviny (Gradient focus theory). Druhá část teoretického úvodu je zaměřena na morfo-syntaktický popis českých demonstrativ. Důležitým aspektem je neexistence kategorie určenosti v češtině a celkový flektivní charakter češtiny, což má za následek různou realizaci určitých gramatických struktur. Kvantitativně několikanásobně větší...The aim of this thesis is to analyse Czech translation counterparts of English demonstrative determiners and determine the degree of correspondence in the use of demonstratives in both languages. The first half of the theoretical chapter defines the English demonstrative determiners on the morpho-syntactic level. Demonstrative determiners in English carry either situational or textual reference, which can be further divided into anaphora, cataphora and the non-phoric reference. Demonstratives also distinguish between singular forms (this/that) and plural forms (these/those), as well as between proximal (this/these) and distal forms (that/those). The choice of either a proximal or a distal form is not always influenced by solely spatial relationships. Less frequent instances of a co- occurrence of a demonstrative and a proper name (Vantage Theory), and of demonstratives with prominent cohesive features (Gradient focus theory), are also discussed. The second half of the theoretical introduction is focused on a morpho-syntactic classification of Czech demonstratives. The inflectional character of Czech, together with the absence of the category of definiteness results in different realisations of certain grammatical structures. The quantitatively larger set of Czech demonstratives is classified...Department of the English Language and ELT MethodologyÚstav anglického jazyka a didaktikyFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

The semantics of complex demonstratives: a defense of character theories

Aquesta tesi defensa una aproximació tradicional a la semàntica de demostratius complexos, ço és, expressions com "aquesta taula" o "aquell home". A la teoria clàssica, els demostratius complexos funcionen com qualsevol altre díctic: tal com ocorre amb paraules com ara "jo", "ella" o "ací", es tracta termes que depenen del context i que estan dotats d'un significat descriptiu anomenat "caràcter" que ajuda a fixar-ne referent en cada situació d’ús però que no juga cap més rol una vegada aquest individu ha estat determinat. El seu contingut o contribució proposicional és, al seu torn, un simple objecte. Aquest model dels demostratius complexos es troba justificat en la mesura que les expressions d’aquesta mena es comporten com qualsevol altre díctic quan es troben en contexts intensionals o involucrades en fenòmens com ara l’anàfora i l’el·lipsi. Tanmateix, diversos debats recents han posat en dubte aquest paradigma tradicional, i ho han fet arran d’un allau de dades sobre usos no-díctics dels demostratius complexos. Aquests contraexemples inclouen casos en què hom opera sobre el nominal d’un demostratiu mitjançant un quantificador extern, instàncies d’anàfora del discurs, exemples de transparència sota operadors modals, oracions Bach-Peters, lectures on el demostratiu pren abast estret i usos on funciona com a variable lligada. Tots aquests casos problemàtics han dut molts autors a desenvolupar aproximacions alternatives que difereixen considerablement del model tradicional, i que sovint conceben aquestes expressions com a quantificadors o com un tipus especial de descripció definida. En aquesta tesi argumente que tot el que cal per donar cabuda a tota la sotsdita contraevidència és una revisió independentment justificada de les teories clàssiques dels demostratius complexos. Més concretament, els ajustaments necessaris són dos: l’assumpció que el llenguatge natural pot contindre operadors hiperintensionals (el que Kaplan va anomenar "monstres") i l'adopció d'un sistema amb quantificació explícita sobre temps i mons. La primera idea és necessària per tal de modelar adequadament el funcionament de les variables en llenguatge natural, mentre que la segona té com a resultat que el temps i el mode verbals funcionen de manera anàloga als pronoms, és a dir, com a variables que es poden lligar. Un cop implementats aquests canvis, els problemes adés esmentats senzillament s’esvaeixen. En primer lloc, no resulta sorprenent que el fet d’operar sobre el nominal d’un demostratiu done lloc a usos no-díctics; al cap i a la fi, aquest tipus d’operació implica manipular el caràcter –o hiperintensió– de l’expressió. El mateix ocorre quan els demostratius complexos funcionen com a variables lligades. En segon lloc, tractar el temps i mode verbals com a variables explícites té un resultat interessant: els demostratius complexos amb oracions de relatiu contenen variables que poden ser lligades per verbs i altres expressions modals. Com a conseqüència, els demostratius no-díctics que apareixen en contexts intensionals poden ser entesos com un cas especial de quantificació sobre el caràcter de l’expressió. L'anàfora del discurs és més enrevesada, però no és més problemàtica per als demostratius complexos que per a qualsevol pronom, ja que pot ser reduïda a un mer cas de covariació sense comandament-c, un fenomen ben estudiat. A la tesi exponc diverses maneres d’abordar aquest tipus problemàtic d’anàfora, i les aplique al cas particular dels demostratius complexos. Les oracions Bach-Peters, al seu torn, es poden tractar com una combinació de covariació sense comandament-c i d’operacions sobre el caràcter. Una vegada hom pren en consideració totes aquestes qüestions, resulta possible de mantindre la tesi central de les teories clàssiques: cal entendre els demostratius complexos segons el model dels pronoms.This dissertation defends a traditional approach to the semantics of complex demonstratives, i.e., expressions like “this table” or “that man”. On the classical theory, complex demonstratives work just like any other indexical: pretty much like “I”, “she” or “here”, they are context-dependent terms endowed with a descriptive meaning, their so-called “character”, that helps fix their referent in a context but plays no truth-conditional role once this individual has been selected. Their content or truth-conditional contribution, in turn, is simply an object. This model of complex demonstratives was justified insofar as these expressions behave just like any other indexical in intensional environments and in phenomena like anaphora and ellipsis. Recent discussions, however, called into question the traditional picture on the basis of data about non-deictic uses of complex demonstratives. These include cases in which the nominal of a demonstrative is operated on by an external quantifier, instances of discourse anaphora, transparency under modals, Bach-Peters sentences, readings in which they take narrow scope under a quantifier, and constructions in which they function as bound variables. These problematic uses of complex demonstratives led many authors to develop alternative approaches that differ greatly from the traditional one, often viewing these expressions as quantifiers or as a special type of definite description. In this dissertation I argue that an independently justified revision of the classical theories of complex demonstratives suffices for accommodating all the counterevidence above. Namely, the required adjustments are two: the acknowledgment that natural language may contain hyperintensional operators (what Kaplan called “monsters”), and the adoption of a system with explicit quantification over times and worlds. The former idea is required by a proper treatment of variable binding in natural language, whereas the latter renders tense and mood on a par with pronouns – i.e., as variables that can be bound. Once these adjustments have been implemented, the above problems vanish. In the first place, it is no surprise that operating on the nominal of a demonstrative should result in non-deictic uses; after all, such operation implies meddling with the character – or hyperintension – of the expression. The same goes for bound variable uses of complex demonstratives. In the second place, the above-mentioned treatment of tense and mood bears an interesting result: complex demonstratives containing tensed relative clauses are also subject to external binding by modal operators. As a consequence, non-deictic demonstratives under modals can be reduced to a case in which the character of the expression is also being meddled with. Discourse anaphora is more complex, but it is no more problematic for complex demonstratives than it is for any pronoun, for it can be treated as a mere case of co-variation without c-commanding. In this dissertation I consider several solutions that have been put forward for dealing with this problematic type of anaphora, and I apply them to the particular case of complex demonstratives. Bach-Peters sentences, in turn, can be treated as a combination of both co-variation without c-commanding and operations on character. The central thesis of classical theories can therefore be retained: complex demonstratives should be understood on the model of pronouns

A Pragmatic View of Proper Name Reference

I argue, in this thesis, that proper name reference is a wholly pragmatic phenomenon. The reference of a proper name is neither constitutive of, nor determined by, the semantic content of that name, but is determined, on an occasion of use, by pragmatic factors. The majority of views in the literature on proper name reference claim that reference is in some way determined by the semantics of the name, either because their reference simply constitutes their semantics (which generally requires a very fine-grained individuation of names), or because names have an indexical-like semantics that returns a referent given certain specific contextual parameters. I discuss and criticize these views in detail, arguing, essentially, in both cases, that there can be no determinate criteria for reference determination—a claim required by both types of semantic view. I also consider a less common view on proper name reference: that it is determined wholly by speakers’ intentions. I argue that the most plausible version of this view—a strong neo-Gricean position whereby all utterance content is determined by the communicative intentions of the speaker—is implausible in light of psychological data. In the positive part of my thesis, I develop a pragmatic view of proper name reference that is influenced primarily by the work of Charles Travis. I argue that the reference of proper names can only be satisfactorily accounted for by claiming that reference occurs not at the level of word meaning, but at the pragmatic level, on an occasion of utterance. I claim that the contextual mechanisms that determine the reference of a name on an occasion are the same kinds of thing that determine the truth-values of utterances according to Travis. Thus, names are, effectively, occasion sensitive in the way that Travis claims predicates and sentences (amongst other expressions) are. Finally, I discuss how further research might address how my pragmatic view of reference affects traditional issues in the literature on names, and the consequences of the view for the semantics of names

A grammar of Nias Selatan

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A grammar of Nias Selatan

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The Irish of Iorras Aithneach, County Galway; Volumes I-IV

This grammar is based on extensive fieldwork, published and unpublished lore, and recent as well as older recordings, particularly those held in the archives of Roinn Bhéaloideas Éireann and Raidió na Gaeltachta. These sources provide a picture of extensive variation and change across the six generations born between 1850 and 2000. The grammar draws on several branches of linguistics: descriptive and historical linguistics, dialectology and sociolinguistics. It is the most comprehensive treatment of any variety of Irish. Volume I provides an introduction and chapters on historical phonology, sandhi and nominal morphology. Volume II describes plural noun morphology, the verb and pronominals. Volume III contains chapters on prepositions, functors, initial mutations, higher register, borrowings and language contact, and onomastics. Volume IV presents transcriptions and a CD containing recordings of a slection of speakers across the generations. The final volume also contains a vocabulary, bibliography and four indexes